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Rapids facing New York in cup play
The Colorado Rapids traveled to New York on Tuesday in advance of a Wednesday night clash with the New York Red Bulls in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match, and the start of a busy stretch for the team.
The Rapids, whose match will be streaming live on www.ColoradoRapids.com, face New York in the team’s new arena at 6 p.m. Mountain time. The winner will advance to the main draw of the cup, the oldest soccer competition in the U.S.
Game conditions will be a change for the Rapids. Not only is this the first visit to the new New York pitch, the Rapids haven’t played a match since May 15.
The Wednesday game, however, starts a busy stretch for the team. Colorado returns to host the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. According to the team, there are a limited number of seats left available for the 7 p.m. match. Tickets can be purchased here.
Then, after facing last year’s league darlings — and defending U.S. Open Cup champions — the Rapids face the East-leading Columbus Crew at home on June 5. Tickets for that 7 p.m. game are also available here.
The Crew is a surprising 6-0-2, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto leads the team with four goals and two assists.
The Crowds: Why all this mention of where to get tickets? Because the turnout for the first three games at home has been disappointing. Looking around Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, I wonder if the Rapids aren’t suffering from the lingering impact of three seasons without a trip to the playoffs.
It will be interesting to see what happens on Saturday. Seattle has done a fine job of building excitement and a following. I wonder how many neon green jerseys will be in the stands at DSG Park.
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